shank vs stick

shank

verb
  • To stab, especially with an improvised blade. 

  • To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction. 

  • To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft. 

  • To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off. 

  • To remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants. 

  • To provide (a button) with a shank (loop forming an eye). 

  • To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it. 

noun
  • The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point. 

  • A poorly played golf shot in which the ball is struck by the part of the club head that connects to the shaft. 

  • A redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs. 

  • A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it. 

  • The main part or beginning of a period of time. 

  • Meat from that part of an animal. 

  • The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck. 

  • An improvised stabbing weapon. 

  • The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph. 

  • The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel. 

  • The end or remainder, particularly of a period of time. 

  • A loop forming an eye to a button. 

  • The metal part on a curb bit that falls below the mouthpiece, which length controls the severity of the leverage action of the bit, and to which the reins of the bridle are attached. 

  • A protruding part of an object, by which it is or can be attached. 

  • A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem. 

  • The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle. 

  • Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round. 

adj
  • Bad. 

stick

verb
  • To stab. 

  • To attach with glue or as if by gluing. 

  • To fix on a pointed instrument; to impale. 

  • To press (something with a sharp point) into something else. 

  • To perform (a landing) perfectly. 

  • To have sexual intercourse with. 

  • To cut a piece of wood to be the stick member of a cope-and-stick joint. 

  • To run or plane (mouldings) in a machine, in contradistinction to working them by hand. Such mouldings are said to be stuck. 

  • To tolerate, to endure, to stick with. 

  • To become or remain attached; to adhere. 

  • To persist. 

  • Of snow, to remain frozen on landing. 

  • To propagate plants by cuttings. 

  • To stand pat: to cease taking any more cards and finalize one's hand. 

  • To jam; to stop moving. 

  • To furnish or set with sticks. 

  • To remain loyal; to remain firm. 

  • To place, set down (quickly or carelessly). 

adj
  • Likely to stick; sticking, sticky. 

noun
  • A small rectangular block, with a length several times its width, which contains by volume one half of a cup of shortening (butter, margarine or lard). 

  • A manual transmission, a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission, so called because of the stick-like, i.e. twig-like, control (the gear shift) with which the driver of such a vehicle controls its transmission. 

  • A cigarette (usually a tobacco cigarette, less often a marijuana cigarette). 

  • A standard rectangular strip of chewing gum. 

  • The clarinet. 

  • Vigor; spirit; effort, energy, intensity. 

  • Vigorous driving of a car; gas. 

  • General hitting ability. 

  • A piece (of furniture, especially if wooden). 

  • The vertical member of a cope-and-stick joint. 

  • A long thin implement used to control a ball or puck in sports like hockey, polo, and lacrosse. 

  • The short whip carried by a jockey. 

  • A timber board, especially a two by four (inches). 

  • A handgun. 

  • The game of pool, or an individual pool game. 

  • A board as used in board sports, such as a surfboard, snowboard, or skateboard. 

  • Vehicles, collectively, equipped with manual transmissions. 

  • The potential accuracy of a hockey stick, implicating also the player using it. 

  • Corporal punishment; beatings. 

  • The structure to which a set of bombs in a bomber aircraft are attached and which drops the bombs when it is released. The bombs themselves and, by extension, any load of similar items dropped in quick succession such as paratroopers or containers. 

  • Use of the stick to control the aircraft. 

  • A mast or part of a mast of a ship; also, a yard. 

  • The control column of an aircraft; a joystick. (By convention, a wheel-like control mechanism with a handgrip on opposite sides, similar to the steering wheel of an automobile, can also be called the "stick", although "yoke" or "control wheel" is more commonly seen.) 

  • The traction of tires on the road surface. 

  • The amount of fishing line resting on the water surface before a cast; line stick. 

  • A small, thin branch from a tree or bush; a twig; a branch. 

  • A thrust with a pointed instrument; a stab. 

  • The cue used in billiards, pool, snooker, etc. 

  • A cane or walking stick (usually wooden, metal or plastic) to aid in walking. 

  • Criticism or ridicule. 

  • A memory stick. 

  • A negative stimulus or a punishment. (This sense derives from the metaphor of using a stick, a long piece of wood, to poke or beat a beast of burden to compel it to move forward. Compare carrot.) 

  • A cudgel or truncheon (usually of wood, metal or plastic), especially one carried by police or guards. 

  • The long-range driving ability of a golf club. 

  • Any roughly cylindrical (or rectangular) unit of a substance. 

  • The pole bearing a small flag that marks the hole. 

  • A relatively long, thin piece of wood, of any size. 

  • A bunch of something wrapped around or attached to a stick. 

  • The potential hitting power of a specific bat. 

How often have the words shank and stick occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )